Hu and Wen as "people-caring sage-emperors"

AsiaMedia :: Hu Jintao's 'Theory of the Three Harmonies': both Hu and Wen have presented themselves as 'people-caring sage-emperors' in the mold of Confucius' ideal, humanistic rulers. Indeed, many of Hu and Wen's slogans, including 'putting people first,' 'running the administration for the sake of the people,' and 'seeking harmony in the midst of differences' are pulled right out of the teachings of Confucius and like-minded sages such as Mencius.

This is what I do feel each time I read Hu Jintao's speeches: he reminds me of common Rujia (Confucean) sayings. The rest of this interesting article is not explaining why Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao choose to root their slogans in such an ancient reference. One may consider them to try to hold on what had the deepest influence in Chinese minds. But another standpoint could be to analyse this in what seems to be the most used government policy in China, the balance between openly stated Mencius' ideas and in realty used Xunzi's doctrine. Mencius is the idealist and optimist side of Concucianism, while Xunzi gives the realist and pragmatic rules on how to actually govern a country.